Evening all. So, here we go with the first regular UC of the new (/final year of the) decade. It is good to have the regular series back; while the Xmas series always makes for a pleasant interlude, nothing beats the regular series. The prize for tonight's winners, the ante-penultimate place in the QFs, where, I'm guessing, they'll play Manchester in the preliminaries.
Trinity College Cambridge won their first match against Durham 200-145, a win made all the more impressive by their opponents subsequently surviving to the play-offs and strolling through to the QFs with ease. Hoping to join them were the unchanged foursome of:
Nadia Hourihan, from Dublin, studying English
Lillian Crawford, from Bearsted in Kent, studying History
Captain: Joseph Webber, from Bury St Edmunds, studying Maths
Liam Hughes, from Cardiff, studying Maths
Lady Margaret Hall Oxford had a much closer first round affair, just triumphing 150-145 against Downing College Cambridge, who had the misfortune to miss out on the play-offs on questions heard, UC's equivelant of goal difference. They were also the same quartet as before:
Matthew Le Croissette, from Reading, studying Medicine
Mary Lobo, from Woodcote near Reading, studying Law with German Law
Captain: Isaac Brown, from Sheffield, studying French and Linguistics
Rowan Janjuah, from London, studying Classics
Off we set again then, and Mr Hughes took the first starter of the decade with 'anorak'; a full bonus set on poetry showed the Cambridge side meant business tonight. Mr Webber took the second starter, but just one bonus on sports grounds with shared names followed this time (I got Windsor Park). Mr Brown got his side off the mark with the third starter of the game; they also took just a single bonus on John von Neumann. Mr Hughes reasserted Trinity's authority as he took the next starter, giving a bonus set on the actress Rinko Kikuchi, of which they took a full set. The first picture round, on crowns taken from national emblems, went to Lady Margaret Hall; no bonuses followed this time, leaving them trailing 65-25.
Mr Brown gave the Oxonians a second starter in a row by identifying the bluebird as the bird linking various listed items; bonuses on Hell in literature gave them a pair of correct answers. Mr Hughes, by his own admission, guessed 'Lord Palmerston' for the next starter, and was correct, giving a bonus set on Irish place names, of which they took another full set. Mr Webber also looked like he was guessing on the next starter when he suggested various listed artists were exponents in graffiti, but he was right too; just one bonus followed this time though. No guessing needed on the next starter, Mr Hughes spotting a list of the nationalities of popes, but no further points came from the bonuses.
The music round, on pieces that use the Ondes Martneot, went to Trinity; two correct answers took their lead to 135-45. Lady Margaret Hall badly needed a starter, and Mr Brown duly delivered it with 'Dirac'; bonuses on maple trees gave them just the one correct answer, with recently deceased UC alumnus Clive James getting a welcome mention. Mr Hughes resumed Trinity's supremacy on the next starter; one bonus on European forest regions followed, and they were unfortunate to miss another. Ms Lobo gave Lady Margaret Hall another starter with 'patriarch', but a complex physics bonus set was not what they needed in their position, no further points. Mr Webber pushed Trinity further ahead by knowing that the ExoMars Rover was renamed after Rosalind Franklin; the bonuses gave them one correct, and, again, unluckily miss another, Mr Webber passing just before Ms Crawford thought up the right answer!
The second picture round, on stills from thematic film trilogies with one film missing, went to Lady Margaret Hall; two bonuses were taken, taking the scores to 165-90. Mr Le Croissette did the right thing and went in early on the next starter, but only managed to lose five; Mr Hughes took the points, and that was game over. One bonus followed.
Mr Hughes confirmed the win by taking the next starter; bonuses on Iceland gave Trinity a full set to take them past 200. They were running away with it now, and Ms Hourihan added to it by taking the next starter, giving them a bonus set on poetry read at US presidential inaugurations; two correct answers followed. Mr Webber took the next with 'Magnesium', and two bonuses on English counties followed. Mr Brown did take the last starter for Lady Margaret Hall; one bonus deservedly took them into triple figures, and the gong stopped them from getting another. Trinity won 245-100.
A good enjoyable contest despite its one-sidedness. Unlucky Lady Margaret Hall, but a perfectly respectable performance, thanks very much indeed for playing. Very well done Trinity though, another very impressive showing, definitely a team to watch in the QFs; best of luck to them there!
The stats: Mr Hughes was easily the best buzzer of the night with EIGHT starters, while Mr Brown was best for Lady Margaret Hall with four. On the bonuses, Trinity converted 23 out of 39, while Lady Margaret Hall managed 7 out of 21 (with the night's one penalty).
Next week's match: according to Thomas de Bock on Twitter, Edinburgh vs Wolfson, followed by Corpus Christi vs Magdalen
Only Connect returned with its last qualified match, with the Orwellians vs the Turophiles. After a slow start, the former came from behind on the Walls, and won it on the Missing Vowels, 17-14.
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